The ballet Les Sylphides premiered on June 2nd, 1902. It was performed by the Ballets Russes, with principal dancers Tamara Karsavina, Vaslaw Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, and Alexandra Baldina .
The score for this piece was written by Frederic Chopin, with choregraphy by Michel Fokine and sets and costumes by Alexandre Benois.
Original title and Performances
This ballet had been performed several times before June 2nd under a different name Chopiniana. Although still staged by Fokine, these versions had slightly different musical pieces.
The first version was premiered on February 23rd, 1907, with principal dancers Anna Pavlova, Vera Fokina , and Anatole Oboukhoff . It was performed in Saint-Petersburg at the Maryinsky Theatre. This version included only five Chopin pieces:
- Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, no. 1,
- Nocturne in F major, Op. 15, no. 1,
- Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 50, no. 3,
- Valse in C Sharp minor, Op. 64, no. 2,
- Tarantella in A flat major, Op. 43.
Final Version
The final version of this ballet, performed under the name Les Sylphides included several more pieces.
- Polonaise in A major (some companies substitute Prelude in A Major instead)
- Nocturne in A flat major (Op. 32, no. 2),
- Valse in G Flat major (Op. 70, no. 1),
- Mazurka in D major (Op. 33, no. 2),
- Mazurka in C major (Op. 67, no. 3),
- Prelude in A major (Op. 28, no. 7),
- Valse in C sharp minor (Op. 64, no. 2),
- Grande Valse in E flat major (Op. 18, no. 1)
